Gin.



PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

M. REYNOLDS.

GIN.

APPLICATION TILED DBO. 22. 1904 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

INVE/VTUH Jrcerfiegnolda A TTORIVEYS PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

M. REYNOLDS.

GIN.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22, 1904 4 6 m a m m R W W L 5 %N m 9 U UNI .WT F 6 A m 2 2 m N UNITED sTATEs PA NT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1906.

Application filed December 22, 1904. Serial No. 237,932.

T on whom, itmay concern.-

Be it known that I, MERoER REYNOLDS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Clarksdale, in the county of Coahoma and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and Improved Gin, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to cotton-gins, and more particularly to that type usually termed linters. Its principal object is to provide an eflicient apparatus of this character by which mixed seeds of different sizes may be satisfactorily operated upon to produce lint of different grades.

Reference is to be had to the accompany ing drawings, forming a part of this specifi-' cation, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a broken side elevation of one embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2' is a vertical transverse section on the line 2 2 of' Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail in side elevation of the feed mechanism. Fig. 4 is a broken elevation of the inner face of the finger-board, and Fig. 5 illustrates in top plan the relation between the finger-board and saw-cylinder.

designates a casing of a gin, in which is journaled the shaft of a saw-cylinder 11, rotatable at the desired speed through a pulley 12, and with which cylinder coacts the usual lint brush or dolfer 13. The saws at'the opposite side from the doffer project through a grate 14, carried by a breast portion 15, which is hinged upon the main casing at 16,, for the purpose to be hereinafter stated. J ournaled at the ends of this breast portion above the grate is a float 17, which may be rotated by friction-gearing 18 from the sawcylinder. Furnishing a wall of the chamber in which the float operates is a finger-board 19, which in accordance with my invention is flexible, it preferabl consisting of sheet metal. It is shown as ed at its upper edge at 20, while upon its lower edge are riveted or otherwise fastened fingers 21, which pro-. ject between the saws. The finger-board is provided with independent means for varying the relation of diflerent portions to the saw-cylinder, such means in the present instance consisting of rods 22, conveniently two in number, which are pivoted at 23, near the lower portion of the finger-board, and extend therefrom through the outer wall of the casing, where they are threaded to receive hand-wheels 24, the rotation of which will serve to move the rods and adjust the ends of the flnger-board with relation to the sawcylinder. In this way the position of the edge of the finger-board with respect to the saw-cylinder may be varied. The space thus formed between the edge and the saws diverges from a feed-opening 25, located at one end of the casing and to which delivers a feed-board extending from a hopper 26.

Pivoted within the float-chamber are series of directing members or blades 27, which upper ends upon shanks 28, which project through the finger-board and casing and carry at their outer extremities arms 29. Through openings in these arms passes a connecting member or rod 30. Fixed upon the rod adjacent to the arms are collars 31, secured in position by set-screws 32, and between these collars and the ends of the arms are springs 33, conveniently of spiral form and surrounding the rod. Near the feed end of the machine the rod carries a spring 34, operating between a collar 35, fast on the rod, and a bracket 36, attached to the casing. This spring 34 opposes the other springs and exerts a tension substantially equal to the sum of the tensions of its companions. As a result any of the arms 29 may be moved to the left, Fig. 1,without altering the position of the rod until all said arms have been shifted and have sensibly compressed their springs. Fulcrumed upon the casing in proximity to the end of the rod 30 is a bell-crank lever 37, having a depending arm with which the rod coac'ts. The other arm of the bell-crank extends beneath a lever 38, fulcrumed upon the end of the casing and connected by a pin 39 through a series of openings 40 with a bar 41, guided by a bracket 42. The upper end of this bar preferably carries a roll 43, upon which rests a pawl-bar 44. The bar is guided by this roll and at its point of contact therewith has an inclined or cam-shaped portion 44*. The opposite end of the pawl-bar cooperates with a revoluble driving member or pin 45, carried by a crank-disk 46, secured upon a shaft 47 and rotatable bv a pulley 48 from any source of power. The bar 44 has a projection or pawl 49, which is here shown as removable and which contacts with a ratchetwheel 50, fast upon the shaft of a grooved or pocketed feed-roll 51, ournaled in the hopper-walls just above the feed-board. To balance the Weight of the pawl-bar, connectingbar, and lever, the bell-crank may have an extension 52, upon which is supported a weight 53. This is preferably movable to vary the poise and is secured in place by a set-screw 54.

In operation the saw-cylinder, dofler, float, and crank-disk are continuously rotated in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 3, and the hopper is supplied with the seeds to be linted. As the crank-disk rotates the pawl is drawn into coaction with the ratchet-teeth rotating the feed-roll, as is shown by the arrow in Fig. 2, said pawl upon reverse movement being raised by the inclined portion of its bar, so that the projec-' tion rises above the ratchet-teeth and operates without the usual click and friction of such mechanism. In the rotation of the roll its pockets carry from the hopper charges of seeds which, passing down the feed-board, enter the float-chamber. Here they accumulate until there is a suflicient amount to form what is commonly termed the roll or a cylinder of the seeds moving with the floatarms. When the roll is of such a diameter as to come into contact with the teeth of the saws, it will also have reached the blades 27. The inclination of these is such that as the seeds are forced against them a travel is produced longitudinally of the machine. Directly beneath the feed-opening the space between the finger-board and the saw-cylinder is substantially closed, so that seeds of all sizes are retained and acted upon by the saws. These tend to first remove the longest lint, which is drawn from the saws by the dofling-brush. As the seeds upon the outside of the roll are advanced by the inclination of the blades they are acted upon by the saws, which draw off the fibers of somewhat less length, this continuing until as the opposite end of the machine is approached the seeds are delinted and fall from the float-chamber as the space between the finger-board and saw-cylinder widens and are discharged in the customary manner. Thus my gin will remove a series of grades of lint, which may be received and divided by a suitable condenser. As a result the fine or short fibers are kept out of the .longer and more valuable portion and the lint is largely prevented from passing out with the seed. If the seed is delivered to the float more rapidly than it falls between the finger-bars, it gradually accumulates and increases the diameter of the roll until this acts upon a greater portion of the blades. These yield under the pressure, compressing the springs 33, and when all of these have been so put under tension they will move the connecting-rod against the spring 34. This,

through the intermediate lever system, raises the bar 41 and causes the pawl-bar to reciprocate in a somewhat higher position. The pawl projection may now engage a less number of teeth of the ratchet-wheel by one or more, decreasing the number of pockets in the feed-roll which discharge the seed, and thus lessening the supply. If this should still be too great, this action will continue until the pawl is moved completely out of contact with the ratchet-wheel, when the feed will stop until a certain amount of the delinted seeds have been discharged. In practice it is found that these elements so adjust themselves that the supply and discharge are balanced, causing the floa't-cham-' ber to run with the proper charge. This may be controlled by the operator by means of the adjustable connection between the lever 38 and the bar 41. If the attendant wishes to entirely stop the operation of the machine, it is only necessary to raise the breast upon its hinges. This causes the lever system to lift the pawl-bar, as is illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. At the same time the friction-gearing is separated and the rotation of the float stopped.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a gin, the combination with a float, of a directing member having its edge situated adjacent to the float and inclined with respect thereto.

2. In a gin, the combination with a float,

of an inclined directing member situated adjacent to the float and movable by the material operated upon.

3. In a gin, the combination with a float, of a feed mechanism, and means for varying the feed situated adjacent to and movable longitudinally of the float and connected with the feed mechanism.

4. In a gin, the combination with a float,

of an inclined directing member situated adjacent to the float and movable by the material operated upon, and springs resisting the movement of the directing member.

5. In a gin, the combination with a float, of a plurality of movable members situated adjacent thereto, feed mechanism, a spring resisting the movement of each member, and a connecting member with which the springs coact and which is joined to the feed mechan- 6. In a gin, the combination with a float, of a plurality of movable members situated adjacent thereto, feed mechanism, a spring resisting the movement of each member, a movable connecting member with which the springs coact and which is joined to the feed mechanism, and a spring resisting the movement of the connecting member and exerting a greater tension than any of the first-name springs.

7. In a gin, the combination with a float, of a plurality of movable members situated adjacent thereto, feed mechanism, a spring resisting the movement of each member, a movable connecting member with which the springs coact and which is joined to the feed mechanism, and a spring resisting the movement of the connecting member and exerting a tension substantially equal to the sum of the tensions of the first-named springs.

8. In a gin, the combination with a float, of a series of pivoted blades situated adjacent thereto, arms fixed to the blade-pivots, a rod movable in proximity to the arms, a spring coacting with each arm and with the rod, a spring acting upon the rod and resisting its movement, and feed mechanism controlled by the movement of the rod.

9. In a gin, the combination with a float, of a series of pivoted blades situated adjacent thereto, arms fixed to the blade-pivots, a rod movable in proximity to the arms, a spring coacting with each arm and with the rod, a spring acting upon the rod and resisting its movement, feed mechanism comprising a roll, ratchet mechanism for rotating the roll, and means for connecting the ratchet mechanism and rod.

10. In a gin, the combination with a float, of a feed-roll, a ratchet-wheel rotatable therewith, a revoluble driving member, a pawl reciprocated by the driving member and coacting with the ratchet-wheel, a guide for the pawl, a blade situated adjacent to the float and movable longitudinally thereof, and connections between the guide and blade.

11 A gin, comprising a saw-cylinder, and a finger-board, the edge of the finger-board being substantially radial to the saw-cylinder, and inclined outwardly toward one end away therefrom.

12. A gin comprising a saw-cylinder, and a finger-board, the edge of the finger-board being substantially radial to the saw-cylinder, and inclined outwardly toward one end away therefrom, and means for varying the angle of inclination.

13. A gin comprising a saw-cylinder, and a finger-board, the edge of the finger-board being substantially radial to the saw-cylinder, and inclined outwardly toward one end away therefrom, and means for independently moving different portions of the edge of the finger-board toward and from the saw-cylinder.

14. A gin comprising a saw-cylinder, a finger-board cooperating therewith and having an edge inclined with respect to the axis of the saw-cylinder, and means for independently moving different portions of the finger-board, to vary the inclination of the edge thereof with respect to the axis of the saw-cylinder.

15. A gin comprising a saw-cylinder, a sheet-metal finger-board cooperating therewith and having its edge inclined with respect thereto, and bending means connected at different points of the finger-board, for varying the inclination of the edge thereof with respect to the axis of the saw-cylinder.

16. A gin comprising a saw-cylinder, feed mechanism situated near one end of the cylinder, and a finger-board having its edge adj acent to the saw-cylinder inclined with respect to the axis thereof, and means for varying the angle of inclination.

17. A gin comprising a saw-cylinder, feed mechanism situated near one end of the cylinder, and a finger-board having its edge adjacent to the saw-cylinder inclined outwardly therefrom and diverging from the feed mechanism, and means for varying the angle of inclination.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MERGER REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

J. 0., WALLIS, M. B. BARR. 

